Bring your aunt to eat big meat, the scumbag father's family is furious

It is an honor to receive foreign envoys. As long as their rank is not too low, they can still report a few words to the emperor. If they do a good job, they will leave a good impression on the emperor.

Mu Xinghe of course cherished it very much and bowed to Lord Lu.

"Thank you, Master Lu, for taking care of me."

Lord Lu laughed heartily: "If you grasp it well, it will be your good fortune. You don't have to worry about the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel during this period. You can concentrate on your work in the Honglu Temple."

"Yes."

Mu Xinghe returned to the Qiao family with brisk steps. Of course, he had to let the whole family know such good news.

Everyone was very happy when they heard about this.

"Do a good job, Xinghe." Boss Qiao patted him on the shoulder. He was very pleased to have such an outstanding son-in-law.

Qiao Jianer asked, "Why did you get transferred from the Ministry of Personnel to the Honglu Temple? It seems that receiving foreign guests is the exclusive responsibility of the Honglu Temple."

Mu Xinghe thought it must be Jian'er, as he got to the point right away. He said, "Two officials from the Honglu Temple have caught a cold. The matters they are responsible for are of great importance, so they have to be transferred from other departments."

After lunch, Mu Xinghe was about to take his wife and daughter back to his home when Qiao Jianer came over.

"Brother-in-law, could you please tell me the names of the two officials who were infected?"

"Of course, one is Lord Zhao Xiang, and the other is Lord Bai Chengyi. They both live on East Street."

Mu Xinghe realized something: "Jian'er, is there any problem?"

"No." Qiao Jian'er shook her head. "I just want to get everything clear. Brother-in-law, when you get to the Honglu Temple, if you find any new information or anything that confuses you, please tell me."

It's not that Qiao Jian'er is always nervous and suspicious at the slightest sign of trouble.

But if this huge family wants to prosper forever and remain unshakable, it is better to be more cautious than to be defenseless.

Mu Xinghe agreed. He didn't think Qiao Jianer was being overly suspicious at all.

The reason why many of the previous calculations were resolved and did not really shake the Qiao family was because Jianer was able to see the big picture from the details and analyze everything in detail.

The family of three returned home, and Qiao Jianer also found Mr. Zhao's house.

Lord Zhao was really ill. He caught a cold and had a fever, and his temperature wouldn't go down. He even had hysteria while lying in bed, talking nonsense. The whole family was very worried.

"When did the master become ill? You followed him around and served him, but you didn't notice anything. Now, a foreign envoy team is coming, and the master's responsibilities have been taken away from him, and he is being ignored."

Old Madam Zhao sat on the edge of the bed, having a severe headache, with her hands pressed heavily on her knees.

At this time of year, the Honglu Temple would receive many rewards for completing its tasks perfectly and gaining the emperor's favor. The younger generation of the Zhao family might even be awarded an official position. However, the master fell ill at this time.

The housekeeper and a group of servants were standing by the bed, also looking confused.

"In reply to the old lady, the master was fine yesterday. He soaked his feet in warm water before going to sleep, and he also added an extra blanket and quilt. His inner clothes were made of fleece to ensure warmth. But I don't know why he caught a cold in the middle of the night. It was so severe. The two imperial doctors who came gave him almost the same prescription, but neither of them worked."

The old lady sneered.

"This is too bizarre. Every disease has its precursors. I'm afraid you're just trying to shirk your responsibility by making this up to deceive an old woman like me. I may be old, but I'm not blind."

"I dare not, old lady. The servants have done all these things, and I still need to check them. These are all guaranteed to be done. Last night, the master had a big appetite and even ate half a bowl of rice. He didn't look sick at all."

"Grandma, could it be that someone is framing Dad and wants to take away the benefits that belong to our Zhao family?"

Lord Zhao's eldest daughter, Zhao Rushuang, stood aside and speculated.

A hint of vigilance appeared on the old lady's face: "What do you mean?"

Zhao Rushuang also sat down beside the bed and held the old lady's hand.

"Grandma, I've been thinking about this over and over again, and I always feel like there's something fishy going on. These servants usually do their job well, and they wouldn't even fail to provide adequate protection against the cold. Yet, Daddy suddenly became so seriously ill. Someone must have tampered with it, given him some untraceable medicine."

The old lady also thought seriously: "Yes, there is something wrong with this matter. Your father's body is not that weak."

Then he asked, "Who do you think it will be?"

"Who else could it be?" Zhao Ruye, Zhao Rushuang's brother, came in. "Whoever can benefit from this is the most suspicious."

"That's right. He's only 20 years old, but he's already become a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel. He has no family background, but he was able to climb to this position so quickly. How could he be a simple-minded and gentle person?" Zhao Rushuang continued.

The old lady understood now.

"But we don't have much contact with the Zhao, Qiao, or Mu families. We're just acquaintances at banquets. Their people have never been to our house, so how could they have found an opportunity to do something?"

In the past, when the Zhao family went to the Qiao family to buy fruits, nuts and other goods, they would ask the servants to go, but they got tired of eating these things and gradually stopped going.

Zhao Rushuang's eyes flickered. "Grandmother, I heard that Princess Feiluan has some special abilities, such as teleporting objects. I suspect she did it."

During this period, there was a vague rumor in the capital that Princess Feiluan was not an ordinary person. She even possessed extraordinary skills and could fly into the air and travel like a fairy. If you offended her, you would have to bear the consequences.

But is this a reason for her to bully others?

Qiao Jianer touched his chin and said, "This is what they call 'sitting at home and having the pot poured out of the pot'."

But who else could have spread those words? Of course it was that bad guy Song Ruier.

"This is too fantastic." Old Madam Zhao shook her head. "It's not that I haven't seen the princess before, but she's just a mortal with flesh and blood. What you're saying is impossible."

"Of course there is some exaggeration, but nothing comes out of thin air. At least it shows that if she wants to harm someone, her methods will be more sophisticated and more difficult to detect than others." Zhao Rushuang said in an affirmative tone.

"This is just speculation. Without any evidence, should we treat the Qiao family as our enemy?" Old Madam Zhao was also doubtful now, because the Qiao family was clearly the beneficiary.

But she knew the principles of dealing with high-ranking families, and making groundless accusations would only give people something to talk about and put herself in a disadvantageous position.

"Yes, we have no evidence, so it's hard to accuse the Qiao family of this and say they did it." Zhao Ruye's brows darkened. "But our Zhao family can't get the benefits of receiving foreign guests this year, and we will never let Mu Xinghe get them, let alone let the Qiao family get them through Mu Xinghe."